From The Ashes
by Princess Pinky
Summary: During their roadtrip to Sylar's father's home, Luke makes an inquiry that leads Sylar to a startling revelation and forces him to come face to face with his past, present, and future.


A/N: This is my first ever _Heroes_ fanfic, so please don't be terribly harsh! And FYI, it takes place after the latest episode of_ Heroes_, "Building 26," and it does involve the character of Luke Campbell and the Syelle/Gabrielle (Gabriel Gray/Sylar and Elle Bishop) ship. This ficlet was inspired after watching ChtiteParisienne75's "Incomplete" video on YouTube. (Check it out if you're a Syelle fan!) Also, I know you'll probably have questions at the end of this and I've meant for there to still be things left unanswered/vague. Remember, in universes like the one in _Heroes_, anything can happen and anything can change over time.

_**From The Ashes**_

He strummed his fingertips across the armrest for the nth time. The clock on the dashboard said it was 7:48 A.M. He knew they had at least another day ahead of them and he wasn't sure how much more silence he could take. There weren't even any cars on their stretch of highway. From his peripheral vision, he could see Sylar focusing on the road as if nobody was even in the car with him.

Luke ran his tongue along the back of his teeth and wondered if should say anything. His lips parted and he felt a rush of cool air fill his mouth. Words – questions – burned at the back of his throat. He promptly closed his mouth again and noted that Sylar didn't seem to notice. Luke strummed his fingers once more. He turned his head to look out the passenger window. The blacktop streamed by him in a blur.

"So," the word glided from his lips before he could stop himself and there was no turning back now. "Do you have any kids?"

"Does it look like I have kids?"

Luke shrugged. "They don't have to be with you for you to have them."

"No."

Luke looked down at his jeans and unconsciously dug his short fingernails into the armrest. "Do you want kids?" From the corner of his eye, he could see the skin on Sylar's knuckles pale.

"Who would want to have kids with a serial killer."

"A psycho bitch?"

Sylar briefly turned his eyes away from the road to glance at look. At first he said nothing, he almost seemed to squint, then his thick left eyebrow rose. "Know any?" He didn't wait for an answer before returning his attention to the drive.

"Maybe I do."

"Oh yeah? Maybe you should introduce us."

Luke smirked. "I think you've already met."

The faint amusement on Sylar's face faded away. "You're serious."

"What?"

"Who do you think I've met?"

"Nobody."

"Now you're lying. Tell me."

"It's nothing-"

"I've already got the address, I could dump you out on the road right now-"

"_Elle."_

Luke's tongue was still resting against the edge of his teeth from the last vowel of the name when he left himself lurching the dashboard. He clamped his eyes and braced for the impact to his face, but it never came. Instead, he experienced something along the lines of nearly vomiting and gasping within moments of one another immediately after a crushing pain to his ribs. He opened his eyes to find his nose a mere three inches from the dashboard and Sylar's open palm splayed across his chest.

"Who are you?"

"I already told you, my name's Luke."

"You're lying!"

"I'm not lying!"

"I can tell-"

"I'm not lying!" Luke shoved himself back into the seat. "I'm just not telling you everything." He folded his arms and briefly winced at the pain from the smack to his chest. He could see the smoke from the tires beginning to settle outside the window. "I'm a lot like you."

"How did you know Elle?" The words came from behind a prison of gritted teeth.

"We were close."

Sylar studied him and seemed to accept the response. "How?"

"I saved her life once." Luke could see something reflected deep within Sylar's eyes.

"When did she tell you about me?"

Luke's lips curled at the corners. "It was a long time ago."

"Why?"

"I asked."

"Cut the evasive bullshit! I want answers!"

"So do I!"

"You have no right-"

"No!" Luke suddenly thrust his arm to Sylar's neck. Pulses of red heat waves began to ripple through Sylar's skin and his face began to turn red as his body slowly cooked. "You had no right!"

Sylar gasped at first, then slowly his eyes began to narrow and Luke's arm began to quiver, then shake, and finally it ripped away from his neck and slowly his complexion returned to normal as his body regenerated from the attack. Sylar held up his hand, telekinetically pinning the teenager to his seat. "Tell me who you _really_ are."

Luke gritted his teeth. Something deep smoldered in his eyes. "I'm her _son!_" He felt Sylar's mental hold disintegrate almost immediately.

"That's impossible!"

"But you know it's true, don't you?"

"No." Sylar shook his head. "You only believe that it's true."

"Elle's dead."

"Not yet."

Sylar sneered, almost looking pleased by the teenager's ignorance. _"I killed her."_

Luke returned an equally smug expression. "And I saved her."

Sylar's half smile faded from his lips. "I cut open her skull."

"Only enough to make her pass out from the pain. She wasn't like the rest of them."

"I burned her body!"

Luke moved his hand and Sylar snapped his arm out to grab it. "Wanna see somethin' cool?" He locked eyes with Sylar. In his head he could almost hear a clock ticking the seconds away, then Sylar released his arm. Luke pressed the cigarette lighter in and for a minute, all he did was wait for it, then he pulled it out, revealing the tomato red end. Luke carefully pressed his finger to the lighter and slowly the red faded to black as the heat absorbed into his finger. He looked up again.

"What is that?"

"Do you know what a Phoenix is?"

"What does that have to do with Elle?"

"A Phoenix can consume itself in flames and rise renewed from its own ashes." By the silence, he knew Sylar was attempting to process where he was going with his speech. "It's kind of funny, isn't it? She was special, so you hesitated to take her life in the same way you take everyone else's…the thing is, the way you chose to kill her was the only way I was able to save us."

"Us?"

"Her and I."

It clicked. "Your power allows you to regenerate through flames…" His chest was rising and falling. "She…she was pregnant. You brought her back!"

"I didn't bring her back, but I did heal her. Us. I can't regenerate if I'm already dead, but we weren't dead yet. She was a fighter. We saved each other, no thanks to you."

Sylar's eyes clouded. "No. It doesn't compute. Your age-"

"You've never time traveled? You should really see the future. Mom thought the past was the only way to keep me safe…You can thank Hiro Nakamura for my presence."

"Mary, how do you explain her?"

"Uncle Matt. You should see how good his mind mojo becomes. She really believes I'm her son."

"What's _real_ your name?"

"My _full_ name, you mean?" Luke smirked and held out his hand. "Noah Lucas Gray." His lips curled smugly. "Nice to finally meet you, _Dad._"


End file.
